International   

Budget passed as JVP abstains

COLOMBO: The Mahinda Rajapaksa government heaved a sigh of relief on Friday as Parliament put its seal of approval to the third and final reading of the 2008 budget with 114 members voting in favour and 67 against.

Though the outcome was not a surprise despite a concerted campaign by the opposition, there were two developments that lent some excitement to the otherwise tame end.

The 37-member Janatha Vimukthi Permuna (JVP), an ally turned adversary which had voted against the budget at the second reading last month, exercised the option of abstention. Senior Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leader and National Heritage Minister Anura Bandaranayake crossed over to the opposition benches but abstained from voting.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) pulled out four of its ministerial nominees from the government and raised hopes in the opposition ranks.

However, the JVP decision shows that the party would not allow the government to collapse.

The JVP’s logic is that the government is on the right track in tackling the LTTE challenge and nothing should be done to provide succour to the Tigers. With the budget blues behind it, the Rajapaksa government is expected to step up the offensive against the LTTE in the north.

A commentary posted on the Defence Ministry website minutes after the budget vote noted, “Political and Defence observers claim that even though the scenario was speculative of a last minute surprise, due to the conspiracies of LTTE sympathisers and power hungry politicians; the government victory will give a boost to the security forces’ efforts to rid the country from terrorism.

According to their view, had the government failed to win over the conspirators at the budget poll, the country’s security may have flung into a great danger.”

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Musharraf makes statute changes
Central Banks move to tackle credit crisis
Pakistan lawyers plan fresh agitation for deposed judges
Budget passed as JVP abstains
British ‘assurance’ on migrants issue
Hindraf to continue struggle
Pakistan slams Western campaign
Sharif releases manifesto
Acidic seas pose a threat to coral reefs
Chinese not happy with environment
Capello is England coach
Manmohan to visit Sri Lanka twice next year

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu